It was while Emily was studying for a postgraduate diploma at London’s Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and at the same time working as a dance facilitator, that her interest in community dance became a true passion.
“I wanted to explore the potential of community dance and was curious about where dance wasn’t happening and questioning why that was the case. It seemed to be available for children, or certain groups of adults in later life, but there wasn’t provision for everyone.”
At the same time, Emily instinctively knew that dance was beneficial to health, and in particular wanted to explore its benefits to people with cancer, as well as those who had recovered from cancer but were living with difficult after-effects.
“I could see and feel the transformation that dance brings for people, and it got me questioning what is actually happening and what is it in dance that makes us feel good. That took me down the route of research.”
Emily’s curiosity about the positive impact of dance inspired her next step.
“I found cancer patients’ health challenges were exacerbated by lack of post-treatment support, which is exactly when the trauma and stress of cancer catches up with people. At the same time, I found extensive research demonstrating the benefits of physical activity. Yet nobody was putting this together. It seemed so obvious to me that we needed to offer dance.”
In 2016 Emily set up Move Dance Feel, helping women at any stage in their cancer journey. Its mission is to integrate dance into cancer care, to alleviate the long-lasting and wide-ranging health challenges associated with diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Move Dance Feel combines delivery with research into the benefits of dance.